“Starbase was a

wonderful

experience for me

that helped to

capture my

interest in science

and to make it

applicable to me

as a young

student. I still

remember the

group exercises

and the fun that we all had getting to know one another. I

loved learning the basics of flight on the flight simulators.

Being able to make rockets with our individual roles such

as quality control and being able to blast them off at the

end of the camp was literally the ultimate send off!

I didn't want to give up Starbase for the summer so I came

back the next year to help out, feeling stronger in my

abilities to lead and participate.

This foundational program allowed me to truly experience

science and it created a love for it. Eleven years later I

have earned my BA degree in biology from the University

of Vermont and have dedicated my life to the love of

science and all the outlets it provides. I am currently

opening a business with my fiancé and am looking to get

into the University of

Vermont's Doctor of

Physical Therapy program.

I want to thank Starbase for

bringing the fun into

learning and allowing me to

establish my goals at such

a young age. Thank you!”

~Teresa "Speedy"

Gonzalez

STARBASE Impact, 11 Years Later The New Year Brings a

New Home for STARBASE

in Rutland Doug Gilman, State Director

Bob Snarski, Unit Chief, Rutland

We are excited to announce that our

Rutland Starbase site will be relocating to

a brand new facility in December. Our

new home is located within the recently

constructed Armed Forces Reserve

Center (AFRC) on Post Road in Rutland.

The AFRC is a joint use facility for the

Army Reserves and the Vermont Army

National Guard.

And there is more good news. IBM has

just approved a community impact grant

that will provide new computers for our

Rutland classroom. Plus, we will soon be

installing a new 3-D printer in Rutland,

allowing for the output of items created in

the PTC Creo CAD (computer aided

design) engineering software used by the

students.

During the spring

semester we will

also implement a

new Robotics

lesson. See

page 4 for more

details about this.

We look forward

to sharing these

improvements

with the schools

of southern

Vermont in 2012!

Our mission is to raise the interest and

Improve the knowledge and skills of youth in

science, technology, engineering and math.

Mary Ann Ledwith, IBM (Board President)

Jeff Rector, VT Air National Guard (Board Treasurer)

Donna Austin-Hawley, VSAC

Joel Clark, VT Air National Guard

David Coen, VT Public Service Board

Peter Fagan, Rutland School Board

Mike Morgan, VT Air National Guard

Don Rendall, Green Mountain Power

Bill Sacco, GE Aviation

John Sheehey, St. Michael’s College

Non-Profit Board of Directors

STARBASE Vermont Staff

Doug Gilman (Coach), State Director

Bob Snarski (Chief), Unit Chief, RUT

Dan Myers (Strider), Unit Chief, BTV

Barb Pennington (Jade), Training Coordinator, RUT

Joanna Tebbetts (Hiker Girl), Training Coordinator, BTV

Becky Dansereau (Wildflower), Instructor, RUT

Paige Montgomery (Lady Bug), Instructor, BTV

Our Office Manager Kim Driscoll (Wolfy) has accepted a

new career opportunity at Ben & Jerry’s in St. Albans. She

has been a vital member of our team since 2005,

supporting both Starbase Vermont locations with her

special skill set. We will miss her very much, both

personally and professionally, but we’re very happy for her.

Thank you so much Kim for all that you’ve done for our

team!

Congratulations to Paige Montgomery (Ladybug) who

obtained her Master’s Degree of Education in Curriculum

and Instruction from the University of Vermont. Great job!

News from the STARBASE Team

“I had a REALLY good time at STARBASE this year!!!!!

I just wanted to thank you for coming to R.I.S. Every

week, I was really exited about STARBASE and after

the day was over, I told my mom about my day so fast

she didn't understand a word I said! I really liked

launching the rockets. I'm pretty sure Bella's went into

orbit! I also loved the "eggbert" activity. I'm really

going to miss STARBASE! I'm really glad I got to do it.”

- ‘River’, Rutland Intermediate School

Rutland Program Site:

Rutland City Intermediate

Rochester Elementary

Sudbury Elementary

Whiting Elementary

Bridgewater Elementary

Shoreham Elementary

Killington Elementary

Leicester Elementary

West Rutland Elementary

Castleton Elementary

Clarendon Elementary

Wallingford Elementary

Neshobe Elementary

Salisbury Elementary

Lothrop Elementary

Bellows Falls Middle School

Benson Elementary

Orwell Elementary

Poultney Elementary

Jamaica Elementary

Wardsboro Elementary

Shaftsbury Elementary

Cavendish Elementary

Rutland Area Christian

Christ the King School

(Rutland)

South Burlington Program Site:

Saint Albans Town

Grand Isle Elementary

East Montpelier Elementary

North Hero Elementary

Highgate Elementary

JFK Elementary (Winooski)

Orchard Elementary

Vergennes Elementary

CP Smith Elementary

(Burlington)

Bristol Elementary

Alburg Elementary

BFA Fairfax Elementary

Cambridge Elementary

Christ the King School

(Burlington)

St. Francis School (Winooski)

Renaissance School

Home School Group

Schools served 2011-2012

Technology literally comes to life as

students participate in the hands-on

Starbase Robotics Challenge.

This new lesson would not have

been possible without

the generous support

of all our major

sponsors and

individual donors. As

a result, we were able

to purchase enough

Lego Mindstorms

Robotics kits and

software for both

program sites in

Vermont. We are very

thankful. In our spring newsletter we

will share more news about the

success of the Robotics lesson.

At the recent DoD STARBASE

training conference in New Orleans

we discovered the excitement of a

newly approved Robotics lesson

plan. This new activity focuses on

the use of technology to

solve problems.

Starbase students will

learn about robots,

how they can help

humans, and how

to program a robot

to solve a problem.

Students will also

practice

communicating

with each other in

this team challenge as they

learn to program a robot with

computer software.

New Robotics Challenge Lesson coming

soon! Our donors made it possible!

STARBASE Vermont Vermont Air National Guard

105 NCO Drive, Building 90

South Burlington, VT 05403

802-660-5201

Vermont Army National Guard

Rutland AFRC

2143 Post Road

Rutland, VT 05701

802-786-3820

Special thanks to our donors General Dynamics and its employees

GE Aviation and its employees

IBM and its employees

Sandy Berbeco

Paul Goldberg

Peoples United Bank

Berkshire Bank Foundation

Mary Ann and Sean Ledwith

George and Beth Lamphere

North Country Federal Credit Union

Green Mountain Power

Hazelett Strip Casting (Bill & Dawn Hazelett)

VTShares (State employees)

Combined Federal Campaign

James and Judith Pizzagalli

David Coen

Bill Sacco

PawPrint and Mail

Lt Col Jeff Rector

Moe’s Southwest Grill

Col (Ret.) John Scott

Sandy and Ron Gascon

Pat and Don Hemenway

Cheryl Eaton

Thomas Amidon

Thomas and Robin McCormick

Laura Chadwick

Ryan Driscoll

Patrick McBride

Lynn Walther

Danny Collins

Brennan Martin